Big Match: 85th Battle of the Saints ends in a draw

Peterite batting machine Santhush Gunathilake produced a stella performance at the 85th Battle of the Saints which ended in a draw at the P Sara Oval on Saturday (2).
 
Gunathiklake continued his wonderful form, following up his first innings 72 with an unfinished 161 (190 balls) that took his side to safety. 

The Peterites were struggling at 126 for 6 in their second innings when Gunathilake found a reliable partner in Kanishka Madushanka. 

The latter’s contribution was a well-made 89 in 138 balls. 

Maduwantha had nine fours in his knock. 

Santhush knock came off 190 balls that comprised 13 boundaries. 

The pair shared a record seventh wicket partnership of 211 runs which helped St. Peter’s to end the day making a score of 317 for 6. 

The duo missed out on the record partnership for any wicket by eight runs that of 219 runs held Fred Perera and David Arndt of St. Joseph’s for the ninth wicket which was achieved way back in 1934. 

But they bettered the seventh wicket partnership in the Battle of the Saints series that of 110 between Fred Perera and Denzil Outschoorn of St Joseph’s achieved in 1936 and 56 by the Peterite pair Adiel Anghie and Anton Perera o in 1960. 

The Josephians had to bat out 16 overs first thing in the morning. Dineth Jayakody and Dilesh Perera went about accumulating as many runs as possible. 

The overnight pair had added 78 runs for the fourth wicket for the Josephians to end day one on 189 for 3. 

They added a further 37 runs before being separated with the dismissal of Dineth whose 77 came off 110 balls and contains six boundaries and two sixes. 

Dineth left at 226 having added a valuable 115 runs Dilesh. 

St. Joseph’s lost two quick wickets for the addition of six runs which included that of Dilesh who made 62 in 80 balls with six boundaries and a six. 

Dunith Wellalage and Sachintha Mahindasinghe frustrated the Peterite bowlers and succeeded in putting on a valuable 39 runs for the seventh wicket. 

The pair fell three runs apart at 274 for 7 before ending the allotted 60 overs with a challenging score of 286 for 8. This was in reply to St Peter’s first inning score of 219 which came on the back of a top knock of 72 by Santhush Gunatileke.

St. Peter’s College 

1st innings 219 all out (60) (Santhush Gunatileke 72, Dineth Anjula 41, Wanuja Sahan 26, Ranmith Jayasena 21, Nipunaka Fonseka 21: Ashian Daniel 3/58, Lakshan Gamage 2/38, Shalinda Seneviratne 2/43)

2nd innings 317 for 6 wickets (79) at close (Santhush Gunatileke 161n.o, Shannon Fernando 25, Kanishka Maduwantha 89n.o, Ashain Daniel 2/65)

St. Joseph’s College 

1st innings 286 for 8 wickets (60) (Johanne de Zilva 45, Sheran Fonseka 37, Dineth Jayakody 77, Dilesh Perera 62, Dunith Wellalage 19, Savhintha Mahindasinghe 22, Ranmith Jayasena 2/33, Kanishka Maduwantha 2/51, Thariq Saboor 2/51)